Seal.



. PATENTED MAY19, 1908.

0. BARBIERI. SEAL.

APfLIGATION FILED MAB.11.1907.

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. 9 34 WITNESSES W I opened without severing the loop 'vide a seal which will be further locke pickin tools; an

STA.

ft m it SEAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

- Patented ma 19, 1908.

Application filed March 11, 1907. Serial No. 361,690.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CEsARE BARBIERI, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, United States of America, have invent ed a certain new, useful, and Improved Seal, of which the following,.taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification.

My invention relates to automatic seals designed to be used once only in. locking or sealing doors, boxes, pouches, packages and other containing vessels which it may be desirableto seal or lock in such a manner that they may not be opened secretlyor without the detachment, destruction or defacement of the seal. q

The invention has for its objects: to provide a seal that cannot be opened Without detection; to provide a seal'that or' breaking the locking mechanism; to provide a seal that cannot be picked or surreptitiously opened; to provide a seal in which all the ope ating mechanism is sim le in construction, well protected and not iable to get out of order, and yet readily closed manuall y by the user thereof without the use of any tool or implement; to provide a seal which is securely locked on the first movement of the insertion pf the terminal of the loop into the housing of the locking mechanism; to roon the first movement to withdraw the free end of the loop from the housing, or any attempt to tamper with the locking mechanism; to

provide a seal havingfmeans to prevent the successful manipulation of or withdrawal of any pick or skeleton tool that may be inserted into the housing; to provide a seal having an arrangement of parts whereby the free end of the loop is automatically guided into engagement with the locking mechanism; to provide a seal whereinwhen completed for use all parts are integral; to provide a seal formed of a single strip of metal, wherein the locking mechanism and contour of the seal blank may be made by a single stroke 01 a die, and the seal formed by a minimum number of bending operations thereafter; to pro vide a seal presenting smooth surfaces and also a minimum s ace for the insertion oi generally. to lmprove, slmphi yand cheapen the cost oi manu'lacstruction and facility and safety in use than has been attained in the devices with which I am familiar. These and other objects are attained by my invention, one embodiment of which is illustrated in the accompanying Fig. 2 is a. lan view of the lank, with the v I ture of such seals and to provide a device of "this character of greater simplicity of 'conready to be formed into the seal seal of Fig. 3, indicated by dotteda'lines.

Fig. 3 is a'longitudinal sectionof myf-improved seal illustrating the relation of the parts when the seal is locked, and Fig. '4 shows my improved seal locked, and illustrates in dotted lines the position in. to plan view of the parts shown 1n section in"- ig. 3.

My improved seal is preferably formed of thin sheet metal, having some degree of resiliency, the cheapest and lightest quality of tin-plate being my preferred material. V

.liei'erring particularly to 'the drawing, Figs. 1 and 2, I provide a shaped blank 5 having a ileXihle strap or loop 6, and toward one end wider portions 7, 8 and 9 which successively decrease in width toward the end. The wider portions 7 and 8 have extending wings 9, 9" and i0, 1O which said pairs of wings are adapted to form. the sides or edges vide projectinghooks for a purpose to be de-.

scribed below. The part 9 is further out to provide aton no 16 for-purposes of engage in'ent with a s 0t 17 on the part 7 when the housing is com letely formed, and is further out to form a s 0t 20 to permit'the insertion of the terminal 19 of the strap 6, into'the' housing 30. The part 8 is provided with an embossed arch 18 for the urpose of guiding .the apertured end 19 of t e stra )6 into engagement with the locking mechanism and which acts as a cover" for the said locking 'mechanism, when the parts 7, 8 and 9 are bent into a position parallel to each other.

The part 7 may be provided with an embossed recess 21. adapted to receive and protect the. point of the barb 13. The free end of the strap 6 is provided near theaperture 19 with. a grille 20 or identifying numbering, lettering or marking, designed to be eX posed proximate the edge 22 (Fig. 4) 'ofthe housing when the seal has been locked by insertion into-the housing, and the consequent engagement witlntlie locking mechanism of the strap 6 in order to conceal any tamper ing with the contents of the car or other container.

The complete sealis formed of an integral strip of sheet metal as above described, and

' when successive right angled bends are made at the points 24, 25, the parts 8 and'9 are brought into parallel relation to each other,

' and thereupon a: further'be'nd of 180 degrees is made at the point 26 in forming the housing. The part 7 is now parallel to the. arts 8, 9 and wings 9 and 9 may respective y be folded over the wings 10* and 10 on the dot- "tedlines as indicated at 27 27, and there upon. further folds made respectively on the dotted lines as indicated'at 28, 28 and flat seams presented adjacent the sides as indicated as 29, 29 (Fig.4). These steps will provide a secure housing:30, an integral bottom, back and sides, and one having tight seams substantially flush with the arched top,

and one having no openings save the narrow slot 20. This construction of housing, espeorally wheh taken in connection with the springcatch 12 normally pressing against .t e ro-ofof the arch 18 and the depending hooked ears 14, 14 cooperating with the barb 13 normally pressing against the part 7, will prevent any separation of the terminal 19 from the housing 30, by means of the insertion of a pick or tool for the pur ose of. ere it" opening the locking mechanism. possible to insert any instrument through the slot 2t), the same would be engaged by the spring catch 12 the barb 13 or the dependmg ears 14 and its removal prevented.

The operation (if my invention is as follows: Assuming the terminal 19 to have been passed through the hasp and staples, or

ssa'mo other parts desired to be sealed,.the terminal a arch 18 by the offset 31 (Fig. 3) in the spring catch 12.

As it is )ushed toward the rear of the housing, it will be'forced downward by the sloping portion 32 of the arch 18 and when the rim 34 of the aperture 19 passes the upturned )oint 33 of spring catch 12, the said catch will spring" through. the aperture 19 thereby preventing withdrawal of the terminal from the housing. Upon retraction' of the terminal 19, the barb 13 will be depressed until the extreme edge 35 of the terminal passes over the point of the barb, whereupon the barb will spring downward into the recess formed in the-part 9 by the cuttingout of the catch 12 and into the recess 2] and thus fully locking the parts and further render ineil'ectual any efi'ort to withdraw the terminal 19 from the housing 30. Any attem t to .0 en the seal by working the .termina 19 back: and forth in the housing will cause it to abut against the offset barb 13 and hooked ears 14, 14 and tend to force them downward against the part 7 and there by phase the oint 33 of the catch 12 against the roof32 o the arch 1.8.

From the foregoing it wiil be seen thht I have provided a seal that may be made with all parts integral, from a sin le piece of material, by a single strokeof a forming die and a small amount'of bendin thereafter, thus obviating any provision or castings, of machining or assembling ofparts, and thereby cheapening the oostof manufacture ofsuch seals; and that I have further provided a seal. which'combines positiveness and efficiency of locking mechanism and adequate protection therefor with flatness and consequent reduction in material rec uired and thus one of minimum weight an bulk.

It will-be evident that without departure from my invention the cooperating tongue 16 and slot 17, the recess 2 1,'the ears 15, 15 or the guide 32, might be omitted, either singly or'together, or other elements for the purposes substituted therefor. F-urther changes will occur to those skilled in the art and are intended to be comprised in my inventionand covered by my claims.

While I have described my seal as made of tin plate it is obvious that other available metals and materials-might be substituted in lieu thereof. Furthermore the strap 6 and, the housing and locking mechanism, 7, 8 and 9, might be made separately, in which event it would be necessary to provide the strap 6 with an additional. aperture 19 at the otner end or the equivalent. it would then be necessary in closing the seal to insert the two ends 19 into the housing together and cause them to en age with the spring catch 12 as heretofore '(lescribed. i

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its useg what I claim as new and desire to seeure by Letters Potent is the iollowing:

'1. 1n combination in e senl, n housing pro vided with a strip 9, a tongue 12 punched out i of said strip 9, a herb 13 on the tongu-e'extending rea-rw: rdly and having its end below iho time of the stri" 9, and a strap provided with an eperturm tongue and of greater width than the width of the tongue.

2. A. see! comprising in combination e housing open at one end, a spring catch provided with ears upon its side edges mijacent its free end located within the housing end rojeoting tmverds the closed end thereof, a herb projecting from said catch and in the re verse direcgiion, together with en epertured strap adapted to be inserted into the housin and drawn over the Catch past the herb an ears, said herb and ears acting to prevent its removal when so placed. i v

3. A self locking cor seal consisting of asingle piece of metal heving an aperture at one end and a plurality of wider portions at the other end, one of the said wider portions being providei'i with 0. spring catch having thereon e reversely pointed herb and ears end'enother of said portions with an erci'i to guide the :1 and the piovidc-d no ediacent n'i' win upon in n' ei'iges end folded over to form a musing end. for engaging thetured end, said arched portion portion be ng cooperating tongue and slot adapted to interlook when said wider ortions are successively 4. A seif looking oer sea single piece of metalheving an aperture at one end and e plurslitv'of wider portions at the other end, one of tne seid wider portions v Verseiy pointed herb 13, and ears 14 14, and another of said portion's'with an arch to guide the epertured end, said wider portions being adapted to be successively folded over in suh 'stantially the same plane to form a housing.

5. A seal comprising at strap having an apertured end and 11V housing portion-formed in three thicknesses by bending the outer end forward upon itself and then bending the doubled portion thus formed forward again to bring the first hendad'aee'nt the innerend of the strap, the housing eing transversely slitted at tn'e point of the first bend-t0 permit of the passage of the a ertnred end and'the end of the housing first locking means for engaging the epertured end.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunder signed. my name in the presence of the two suhscrih ing witnesses.

BARBIERE.

consisting of a being provided with a spring catch 12, a reent being provided with 

